Pokey Chatman never thought her coaching journey would take her to Russia, where she is trying to lead Spartak to its third straight Euroleague title.

Seimone Augustus called her out of the blue. Tina Thompson was looking for her cell phone number. Could she give it to her?

Who could turn down the first draft pick in WNBA history?

Thompson was acting on behalf of Shabtai von Kalmanovic, owner of the Russian women’s basketball team Spartak Moscow Region. He needed a coach for his high profile team littered with WNBA players.

A month later Pokey Chatman had a job in Russia.

Russia? This isn’t the route Chatman was supposed to take.

An All-American as a player at LSU, she joined her coach’s staff after graduation. She learned from Sue Gunter for 13 years as an assistant and associate coach before being called upon to fill in as an interim head coach in the middle of the 2003-04 season as her mentor’s health went into rapid decline.

Chatman continued what Gunter created, going 15-5 and using Sylvia Fowles’ talent to guide the Tigers to their first Final Four appearance. Two consecutive Final Fours followed and LSU was poised for a fourth when the bottom fell out of Chatman’s world.

Assistant coach Carla Berry reported to the LSU administration of Chatman’s inappropriate conduct with one or more former players. Quietly an investigation was launched. A senior athletic director was sent to observe her during a trip to Vanderbilt in late February, 2007.

On March 7 Chatman resigned so her team could fulfill its destiny to reach another Final Four without the allegations hanging over it. She watched on television from her home in Baton Rouge, La., as LSU fell to Rutgers in the semifinal and Candace Parker won her first national title at Tennessee.

Six months later Chatman was on a plane headed for her first season in Moscow.

“I can honestly say I didn’t have this move mapped out,” Chatman said via email Friday, “however it has been rewarding and enjoyable on so many levels. First and foremost is the opportunity to coach the best in the world.

“Secondly, it’s been fulfilling actually traveling the world, to play our games.”

Last year’s Euroleague playoffs were in Prague. This year group play will take the two-time defending champs to Italy and France.

“I guess when you start the profession you’re not envisioning it taking you to Austria, Venice, Paris, Athens, Riga, Madrid, Budapest, Istanbul, etc.,” she said.

No, they aren’t the places her job should be taking her. She should be visiting places such as State College, Knoxville, Hartford, Tampa, St. Louis and Indianapolis. Or maybe Los Angeles, Phoenix, Washington, Atlanta and New York.

Chatman should be working on this side of the pond. She should be visiting the cities on her Spartak schedule as a tourist, not as a coach.

No official charges have ever been made against Chatman. No victim named. She reached a $160,000 settlement from LSU three months after her resignation. That’s not even half of her reported salary in Russia, so from a financial standpoint, Chatman’s move makes sense.

From a basketball standpoint, Chatman is working with some incredible talent. She has eight WNBA players on her team, the most of any team in Euroleague, the highest level of competition. Nearly every team in the 24-team competition has at least one WNBA player on its roster.

Ironically, or maybe it’s fate, but Chatman has been reunited with Fowles in Moscow. She joins household names (at least to those who follow women’s basketball) Diana Taurasi, Janel McCarville and Kelly Miller on the Spartak team. Sue Bird and Lauren Jackson will joining the team when they are healthy.

“The talent level is exceptional at the Euroleague level,” Chatman said. “There’s more of a drop off at the Eurocup level [the second tier]. But even with the non-WNBA players, many have been playing professionally since the age of 17 or 18 and have a tremendous understanding of the game and train and play year round.”

Spartak also has the luxury of playing in one of the newer facilities. It seats 4,000-5,000 (think Rec Hall at Penn State) and includes state-of-the-art fitness facilities.

“It’s a great environment,” Chatman said. “Because the government finances a significant part of our budget, the facility is government owned. It’s their contribution for the hospitals, schools and basketball that Shabtai has provided to the region of Moscow-Vidnoe.”

But once again, Chatman’s basketball life has been torn apart. Spartak has lost its deep pockets. Owner Kalmanovic was murdered in Moscow Nov. 2, shot nearly two dozen times in his car in what Russian officials are calling a “contract killing.”

Kalmanovic was reported to have a dark side. He was released from an Israeli prison in the early 1990s after serving five years for providing the KGB with technology secrets. There have been hints of his participation in organized crime and diamond smuggling, but nothing has been substantiated.

Nothing except for his love of basketball.

“I think I was fortunate that this move was the right situation for me,” Chatman said. “Not all teams are Spartak. Shabs made it special! He as passionate in not only building a great professional team, but there’s also five other teams — second division, boys, 16-18, 10-year-old team, we even have a champion chess team, etc. Many, many special things he has going on, along with his wife.”

He treated his players like his children. They are provided with places to live, interpreters and drivers. All of this in addition to paying them up to 10 times what they make in the WNBA.

Nice compensation. But it is Moscow. In the winter.

And for now, it will continue for Chatman and her 2-0 Spartak team, fresh off an 88-74 Euroleague win over Fenerbahce in Istanbul. The team will play another Euroleague game against MR-Tarbes on Wednesday before returning to its Russian League schedule on Nov. 21 against Dynamo N.

“Of course it will never be the same,” Chatman said of continuing without the team’s pulse, “because Shabs can’t be duplicated in terms of his passion for ‘giving’ as well as his love affair with basketball. We were fortunate to fly business class, stay at the finest hotels, spend extra days in the world’s greatest cities [as an educational experience was his reasoning].

“He took care of so many extras that truly made this place as close to home for many foreigners as possible. So many things it would take too long to list. However, all indications are ‘go’ and the government, Shabtai’s wife, and many others are committed to seeing his dream continue.”

So for now, Chatman will run her team through two practices on non-game days. A 75-minute “skills” session is held at 10 a.m. A regular practice is held at 5:30 p.m. when the players “go at it pretty good,” she said.

And if the week doesn’t include many games, the players work out with Srjan Saric, the team’s physical coach, who has individual programs for the players.

“Many, at this time in their careers, have figured out what’s best for them in terms of cardio, core and weight training, he simply enhances it,” Chatman said.

And when practice is over, Chatman’s day continues. There are videos to watch and practices to prepare for.

But sometimes, she gets a chance to relax and explore the city filled with history.

“When the schedule permits, I enjoy the center of the city,” she said. “A few lil’ jazz joints are my favorites, but I’m also open to explore this amazing city. Of course the ballet and circus, but also many concerts/artists make their way to Moscow [Eryka Badu, 50 cent, Beyonce and Placido Domingo]. Placido was amazing.”

And then it’s back to practice and preparing for two seasons at once. The first round of Euroleague qualifying will conclude Dec. 16 with a home game against Fenerbahce. The Russian league regular-season schedule runs through March 20.

Then there are more rounds of Euroleague before the championship in mid-April. Just in time for the WNBA players to return to the U.S. for the season’s start in May.

But for Chatman, it will be time to return to her new house in New Orleans and settle in with friends and family and get reacquainted with her Harley.

Unless, of course, she gets another phone call. One that keeps her in the U.S. for the winter, exactly where she deserves to be.

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